There is no doubt that leopard viewing in the Sabi Sand Nature Reserve, and Londolozi in particular, is nothing short of spectacular. The leopard density in this area is among the highest, if not THE highest, in the world. Over the last few weeks, we have been following the movements of a specific young female leopard, the Xinkhova Female, and have been excited at the prospect that her behaviour suggests that she may be looking to set up a territory relatively close to the Londolozi camps. Exciting stuff!
![Xinkhova Female On Termite Mound In Rain [rcb]](https://media.londolozi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/14140220/Xinkhova-female-on-termite-mound-in-rain-RCB-scaled.jpg)
The Xinkhova Female scans the surroundings on a rainy afternoon from a termite mound.
A stunning young female with a very similar spot pattern to her mother, the Nkoveni Female. Litter still completely intact March 2022.
Following on from Ranger Matt Rochford’s blog one year ago, where he introduced the Xinkhova Female, here I will highlight the most recent developments, more specifically the possibility of her establishing a new territory. In Matt’s blog, he eludes to the fact that often female offspring will have a portion of their mother’s territory ceded to them. Although this is most often the case, if two female cubs come into independence, there tends to be too much pressure in the area, and at least one of them will have to try and set up a territory elsewhere, a fair distance away from where they were raised. This was the case with the Finfoot Female, whereby her sister, the Nkuwa Female, has established herself in a portion of her mother’s territory, the Nhlanguleni Female.
A blast from the past; the Nkoveni Female and her two newest independent offspring, the Xinkhova and Stonedrift Females.
A gorgeous female who is found to the east of camp. Easily recognised by her 2:2 spot pattern she is often to be found in Marula trees.
Also young and playful but rather with a spot pattern of 3:2. She is slightly bigger than her sister.
A stunning young female with a very similar spot pattern to her mother, the Nkoveni Female. Litter still completely intact March 2022.
Back to the Xinkhova Female. For the last year or so, this female’s movements have been fairly erratic. She has been staying under the radar for the most part, successfully making kills by herself, and has yet to be seen showing territorial behaviour. That was until three weeks ago, when I watched her actively scent-marking and performing what looked very much like a ‘territorial patrol.’
The Xinkhova Female has grown in confidence and stature significantly over the last six months, now moving around scent-marking and advertising that she has claimed this territory.
Now that she is roughly three years old, it’s about time that she looks to claim an area of land for herself, as her body is most likely telling her that she needs to reproduce. She wouldn’t be able to successfully raise cubs if other female leopards were roaming the area in which she raises cubs, nor would she have a territorial male leopard keeping other males at bay (male leopards that are not the fathers of a specific female’s cubs are the biggest threat to their survival via infanticide).
The Xinkhova Female confidently strutting past our vehicle on the airstrip
The area that looks like she wants to claim as her own seems to be near the Londolozi airstrip, as well as the greater area to the east of this. As it stands, this is a melting pot of three other female leopards’ territories, namely the Plaque Rock Female (her half-sister) to her north and east, the Nhlanguleni Female (also from the Sunset Bend Lineage) to her west, and the Ximungwe Female (her ‘aunt’) to her south.
I understand that all of these cardinal points I have used to describe this area can be confusing, to make things simple here is a diagram illustrating what I have described above.
Competition for this prime real estate is rife, and should any of the other females mentioned above sense that a new female is looking to encroach on their existing territories, conflict may arise. Despite this competition, the Xinkhova Female may successfully establish herself in this area. Because this is close to camp and she is an extremely relaxed leopard, this may result in her soon being the most viewed leopard on Londolozi; only time will tell! I’ll be sure to update you on any further developments in the months to come.
Would be great if she stayed close to the camps, especially as she is so relaxed around vehicles/ people.
Excited to see how this dynamic unfolds
Thanks Robbie, Xinkhova is one of my favourites. She has certainly established her territory in our house – since I saw her again in November she is on a coaster, a mug, and is May on my Londolozi calendar. If that wasn’t enough, my large canvas of her now has pride of place above our fireplace!
Great images and news on this lovely young lady, Robert! After losing several cubs, her mother seemed to have found both luck and the right strategies, so she and her sister were one of the most joyful gift of the most recent years. I happened to find out of Londolozi right because of leopards, and shared the knowledge with family, friends and colleagues. I must say it has had very interesting lions populations and behaviour. Thank you for this fresh update!
Thanks for the update Robbie on Xinkhova. Hopefully the other females that share parts of this territory will allow her to settle in around the airstrip. No one would want to witness another altercation such as the incident between Nkoveni and Three Rivers! As I recall, this is where Ntomi was spending time after becoming independent. He could be a great match for her although he may have moved on due to pressure from the long time resident of that territory.
Hi Robbie, I hope she does set up her territory there then we will be able to see more of her more frequently. She is the smaller of the two as her sister is bigger than her. Nkoveni her mother raised these cubs to the best of her ability. Please keep us updated on her status.
Fascinating update Robert. It will be interesting to follow her as she establishes herself in the LOndolozi area.
Thanks for this very cool update on the Xinkhova maturation and progress in establishing her own territory! It will be exciting to see how things progress for her in the coming weeks and months.
How big are their territories typically? Seems some bigger than others. Will they go outside their territory to hunt? It does seem Londolozi has an abundance of these gorgeous creatures, but how many is too many for the area whereas there would be too much conflict?
How wonderful it would be to keep tabs on her long-term if she establishes herself on Londolozi. Has the Nkoveni female mostly moved off to the east since she has raised three daughters recently? I know she’s still around, but seems to be seen less frequently. Where has the Stone Drift female found herself lately? I’m assuming she too has moved further afield due to the pressure for territory.
That’s so exciting! We were lucky enough to see her very close to camp back in March and the picture I got of her is my pride and joy.
It is intriguing that, despite so much female pressure, the Xinkhova, Stone Drift, and Ngungwe Females in particular have managed to establish themselves when the Finfoot Female was unable to do so. It will be interesting to see what occurs when the older females (namely the Nhlanguleni Female) are no longer in the picture to contend with. One might think that the Ngungwe Female and Plaque Rock Female would be the ones to make inroads into such an area, but it will be interesting to see!